Under the leadership of the Initiative for the Freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, a "Freedom Vigil" has been held in Strasbourg, France since 25 June 2012, in order to demand the physical freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and an end to the isolation imposed on him.

In its 620th week, a group of four people from the Essen region of Germany took over the vigil action, which is undertaken by a group from different countries of Europe every week.

Mevlüde Ekinci, Hakan Gültepe, Fırat Hebûn and Hüseyin Yurtsever, who are carrying out the action in the new week, stated that they were here taking part in the action on behalf of the Essen People's Assembly.

Group spokesperson Mevlüde Ekinci said, "We are in front of CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) for the freedom of our leader."

Mevlüde Ekinci said that they are protesting to declare their determination for Abdullah Öcalan's freedom and added: "We definitely want the freedom of our leader. We want to hear from him as soon as possible."

The group emphasised that the vigil action will continue until the freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan is ensured.